“Through his own close readings of The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion, Dickerson examines the lessons we can learn from hobbits and their vision of the Good Life, relating those lessons to our own lives.”—Publishers Weekly

“Serious students of Tolkien will enjoy Dickerson’s in-depth treatment of many literary and theological themes.”—CBA Retailers + Resources

The Lord of the Rings trilogy has delighted millions of fans worldwide in book and movie form. With the theatrical release of the two-part film The Hobbit slated for 2012 and 2013, attention will once again turn to J. R. R. Tolkien’s classic works. In a culture where truth is relative and morality is viewed as old-fashioned, we welcome the chance to view the world through hobbit eyes: we have free will, our choices matter, and living a morally heroic life is possible.

In this engaging and thought-provoking book, Tolkien expert Matthew Dickerson shows how a Christian worldview and Christian themes undergird Tolkien’s Middle-earth writings and how they are fundamentally important to understanding his vision. This revised and expanded edition of Following Gandalf includes new material on torture, social justice, and the importance of the body.

Matthew Dickerson (PhD, Cornell University) is professor of computer science and environmental studies at Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont, and a popular speaker on Tolkien. He directs the New England Young Writers’ Conference at Bread Loaf and is the author of From Homer to Harry Potter; The Mind and the Machine; Narnia and the Fields of Arbol; and Ents, Elves, and Eriador.

“Speaking from his role as an evangelical leader, Wallis asks Americans to move from satisfying their appetites to living their values day-by-day: ‘People were made for family, community, and human flourishing, not consumerism, materialism, addiction, and empty overwork.’

“Wallis prophetically criticizes the damaging role money is playing in politics, and he is upset about the growing inequality between the rich and the poor. He ends with praise for the old fashioned values of marriage and parenting, noting with pride his love of being a Little League coach.”

“Middle-earth,” by the way, is not a name of a never-never land without relation to the world we live in.—J. R. R. Tolkien

Finding Meaning in Fantasy

In October 1958, three years after J. R. R. Tolkien’s long labors writing and revising The Lord of the Rings had reached fruition with its third and ﬁnal volume at last in print, the author wrote a long and interesting letter to a fan named Rhona Beare. Miss Beare had posed a series of questions about the languages, history, and cultures of Middle-earth. In his response, Tolkien makes what for some readers may seem a very curious claim: Middle-earth, he explains, is our own world, and the tales told in The Lord of the Rings are in some sense connected to our own history.

Now Tolkien acknowledges in this letter that the geology of Middle-earth doesn’t match in details with the geology of our world. As he tells Miss Beare, he considered trying to make these details ﬁt with greater verisimilitude. Before he thought of attempting this, however, the story had already progressed too far. It would have taken too much time and too much work to rewrite his story in order to make Middle-earth more closely tied physically to our world. Despite these geological dissimilarities, however, Tolkien goes on to explain, “I have, I suppose, constructed an imaginary time, but kept my feet on my own mother-earth for place.” And, dismissing the idea put forth by many reviewers that Middle-earth was some other planet, he adds, in clariﬁcation of his point, “Middle-earth is . . . a modernization . . . of an old word for the inhabited world of Men” (Letters, 283). What we might say, then, is that Tolkien’s great legendarium—the corpus of all his stories, legends, and histories of Middle-earth, which many readers and scholars alike consider the preeminent work of otherworldly literature—was not about another world at all, but about our world.

“Dickerson’s main thrust, then and now, is wrestling with one of the common criticisms we hear from Tolkien’s detractors: that LOTR glorifies war and violence. So he carefully looks at the battles, at how they are described, and at how the heroes respond to them, participate in them, think and talk about them, and feel about it afterward. . . .

“Wrestling with significant questions as they are raised and answered by details of plot and texture of passage, Dickerson shows a profound understanding of what literature is and therefore of how it should be studied.”

To kick off the summer, we are giving away five books to one lucky Brazos Blog reader.

Jim Wallis thinks our life together can be better. In this timely and provocative book, he shows us how to reclaim Jesus’s ancient and compelling vision of the common good—a vision that impacts and inspires not only our politics but also our personal lives, families, churches, neighborhoods, and world.

“I am deeply grateful for this book because it shines light into a dark place where few people dare to tread. It speaks into the needs of people who struggle with the questions of death and dying.

“Above all, as it helps the Church recover her voice for speaking hope to the dying, it also illuminates ways in which pastors, preachers, leaders, and concerned believers can participate in the ministry of caring for the dying.

“Well written and researched, intelligent and practical, this book is a strongly recommended reference book for all in Christian ministry and leadership. As much as we all want to live well, we need also to learn what it means to die well. This book provides much wisdom and guidance.”

This book offers a critical analysis of the church’s failure to communicate constructively about dying, reminding the church of its considerable liturgical, scriptural, and pastoral resources when it ministers to the terminally ill. The authors, who have all been personally and professionally involved in end-of-life issues, suggest practical, theological bases for speaking about dying, communicating with those facing death, and preaching about dying.

They explore how dying–in baptism–begins and informs the Christian’s life story. They also emphasize that the narrative of faith embraces dying, and they remind readers of scriptural and christological resources that can lead toward a “good dying.” In addition, they present current best practices from health professionals for communication among caregivers and those facing death.

Q: “There are many books written with a ‘Hobbit’ connection these days, but not many get such nice reviews, what makes your book different?”

A: ” I think I have written in an engaging way. I think I’ve asked good questions. And I think there is a nice narrative arc to my book. Each time I answer one question it leads to more questions, and eventually I think it ties together nicely. I think the book does lead to a deeper understanding of Tolkien, but also explores ideas that are important in life. . . .

“I guess if I had to boil it all down, I think maybe the key aspect of my book that makes it successful is that it does provide what you might call ‘scholarly insights’ into Tolkien’s writing that an average reading might not see or be aware of, but the book doesn’t feel too academic. It is readable.”